This invention relates to a method and a device for bending a component made of a thermoplastic material, particularly a sleeve-shaped component having a straight shank, and to the component itself that can be formed to shape by this method. The component finds application in a personal care appliance such as a dental care, a hair care, a kitchen apparatus or the like.
Plastic injection molding methods are conventionally used for the manufacture of large quantities of plastic components. The methods enable components of straightforward geometrical design to be manufactured with relative ease and economy. It is difficult or impractical, however, to use the known injection molding methods for the manufacture of geometrically elaborate components with several openings, undercuts or miniature dimensions, for example. An alternative way to manufacture such plastic components formed to an elaborate geometrical shape is to assemble them from several individual parts, each of which is injection-molded separately. However, this manufacturing approach is not only highly complex but also cost-intensive, particularly where large quantities are involved, hence the need to find an alternative to the multi-part manufacturing method for the production of tubular sleeve-shaped plastic parts, for example.